


Secrets Washed in Laundry Water (hung out to dry)

by raiining



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spoilers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 09:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1423429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raiining/pseuds/raiining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Coulson’s <i>alive</i>, Nat.”</p><p>“Yes, Clint.”  She smiles.  “He is.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secrets Washed in Laundry Water (hung out to dry)

**Author's Note:**

> OMG OMG OMG OMG! THIS MOVIE HOLY CRAP!
> 
> Okay. *whew* 
> 
> If you haven’t seen it GO SEE IT.
> 
> Come back and read this after. 
> 
> Written after chatting with thisiswintermute about what Clint might have been doing in the two years since The Avengers and beta’d by her too.
> 
> THANK YOU WINTERMUTE!

Clint turns over in his sleep and finds someone’s shoulder. He relaxes when he realizes it’s Natasha. “Mmmm…”

It takes longer than it should to remember that she’s not supposed to be here. Clint’s been undercover for almost eighteen months. It’s starting to show.

“Do not drool on me, малыш,” Natasha says. The obvious fondness in her voice adds to the lingering impression that something is wrong. “I have missed you, but not that much.”

Clint yawns and stretches. “Hey. What’s up? Why are you – ?” Recent memory reasserts itself and he tenses. “What’s wrong?”

Natasha purses her lips instead of replying. Clint sits up; now that he’s awake, he can see the lines of stress around her eyes, the weight that seems to press her down. It curves the top of her spine, giving her a hunched look. “What happened?”

“Everything happened, dear one,” Natasha tells him. There are actual tears in her eyes. Clint’s never seen that before. “Everything.”

It takes hours to explain. By the end of it, Nat’s exhausted. 

“You’re saying that S.H.I.E.L.D. is… gone?” Part of Clint hopes that if he says it out loud, it will start making sense. 

It doesn’t.

Natasha nods. “In this form, anyway.”

“I can’t believe it, I –” He shakes his head. “I’m almost glad that Coulson didn’t live to see this. He’s probably turning over in his grave.”

Natasha tenses. 

Clint swallows. “What?”

She looks at him. “I decrypted the entire database, Clint. _Everything_. Every dirty little secret, every bite of data stored somewhere. There’s still a lot that’s hidden away, some paper-only files that Fury keeps his eye only, but the majority of it, the classified information we were never supposed to see, that got out.”

Clint stares at her. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Coulson is alive.”

Clint’s breath catches. “No.”

Nat’s gaze is steady. “Yes. I don’t know the particulars, I only got a quick glance, but I know what I saw. ‘Phillip J Coulson, GH-325, level ten restricted access’. There was a picture, Clint. A new one. He’s alive.”

Clint feels dizzy. He has to lie down. “He’s alive.”

Natasha nods.

“He’s… he’s… he’s _alive_!” Clint laughs. “He’s alive, Nat! Oh my god, he’s alive.”

Natasha stares at him. “I would have thought you’d be more upset.”

“Oh, I’m upset. In fact, I’m _pissed_. But that can wait. He’s _alive_!” Clint can feel his grin trying to split his face in two. It hurts. He hasn’t had a reason to smile, lately. “He’s alive.”

A thought occurs to him then, and he sits up. “Wait, are you telling me you really didn’t know? This isn’t, like, the perfect opportunity to spill the beans, or anything?”

Natasha’s expression hollows. “I really didn’t know.”

“But. Fury – ?”

She shakes her head. “He didn’t trust me. He said he didn’t know who to trust.”

Clint’s shocked. He reaches out and takes her hand. It’s cold. “I’m sorry.”

She gives him a watery smile. “It’s okay. Spies like us, we’re spies to the bone. I knew that. I just know it better, now.”

“Yeah, but,” Clint bites his lip, “I’d always hoped you two would get your act together. Talk it out.”

She huffs a laugh. “Kettle? Black?”

Clint has to chuckle. “Yeah, probably. At least now I’ve got the chance to make things right. You do, too. You should take it before it’s too late.”

Her expression turns bleak. “It almost was. I really thought he was dead, Clint. I think, despite what he told us, that he really was. For a moment, at least.”

“GH-325?”

She shrugs. “Maybe.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Do?” She looks around. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll join you in your life of luxury?”

Clint laughs. He’s been living in the basement apartment of a semi-legal rental on the outskirts of Budapest. “If you want it, it’s yours. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s gone, though, which means my contract has been dissolved. I’ve got some digging to do.”

“You’re going to go look for Coulson.”

“Fucking right I am. You should come with me. I bet dollars to donuts that’s where Fury has gone. It’s probably why he kept Coulson’s resurrection to himself – an ace in the hole, the one man he knew who could never be corrupted.”

“ _One_ of his ace in the hole’s,” Natasha points out. “It’d be foolish to think doesn’t have more of them. You were another, after all.”

Clint shrugs. “I just looked into a couple of things.”

“You set us on the right path, Clint. You put everything in motion. That’s probably another reason why Nick didn’t tell you that Coulson was alive. He suspected that if you knew about him, you’d never have agreed to such deep cover so far away.”

Clint exhales. “You’re probably right. Damn it. This is what happens when you wear your heart on your sleeve.”

Natasha chuckles. “Maybe. It wasn’t that obvious, though. Coulson never knew.”

“He just didn’t want to. He never thought anyone could see him like that. He was the most – ” Clint has to swallow. “ _Is_. He _is_ the most infuriating man I’ve ever met.” He laughs. “God, it’s going to be hard getting used to that again.”

Natasha smiles. “The good kind of hard, you mean.”

Clint grins. “Definitely the good kind.” He hugs her. “Seriously, where are you going to go?”

“I’m not sure yet,” she tells him honestly. “When I’m ready for visitors, though, I’ll drop you a line. Back code B?”

“B it is,” Clint agrees. “Just be careful. I know that look in your eye, Natasha. You’re not planning on a relaxing vacation on a beach somewhere just yet.” He hesitates. “If you need me, I’ll come with you.”

Some of the weight Natasha’s been carrying on her shoulders seems to lighten. “I know you would. This is something I have to do on my own, though. It’s going to involve some… digging.”

He winces. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Okay, then.” Clint stands up and stretches. “Any idea where I should start?”

Natasha shakes her head, but then stops. “Hack into Sitwell’s accounts. Follow his movements backwards, away from the Triskillion. His name was on the restricted list of known contacts attached to Coulson’s file, the only people who had been cleared to know that Coulson was alive.”

Clint scowls. “Sitwell. I can’t believe it. I don’t _want_ to believe it, Nat.”

Natasha looks just as disturbed. “I know. It’s a place for you to start, though.”

Clint nods. “Okay, I will. Thank you.”

“For you, малыш, anything. You know that.”

Clint squeezes her hand. “You’ve already given me exactly what I need.” He feels light. Free. “He’s _alive_ , Nat.”

“Yes, Clint.” She smiles. “He is.”

 

 

The End

 

 

 

 

малыш : “little boy”


End file.
